A Royal Wedding(82)

Kate shuffled slightly against him and he held his breath, in fear that she was going to break this tenuous, remarkable connection. But to his delight and wonder she was not moving away—she was snuggling closer. And his heart sang. He had never, ever expected to feel so powerfully like this again.

She felt so right. It was as though she was the last piece in the complex jigsaw puzzle that was his life, which he had not even realised was missing until he had found it hidden in the most unlikely of places.

His mouth was pressed into her hair now, kissing the top of her head, breathing in the essence of who she was, and as Kate turned within the circle of his arms she closed her eyes so that he could hold her and brush his lips across her forehead and temples.

‘I am so sorry,’ she choked out, and looked up into his face. ‘You must think that I am totally pathetic, but the call was about Gemma. Oh, no,’ she added quickly, when Simon gasped in alarm. ‘She’s fine. Or at least as fine as she ever will be.’

Kate shook her head and pressed her palm against his chest, sending delicious shivers through him. ‘Tom has been called in to repeat some tests after his yearly check-up. He has a cold that won’t go away, and she is terrified that his cancer has come back.’

‘Oh, I am so sorry,’ he murmured as gently as he could. ‘Are you worried?’

Her answer was a short shrug. ‘Not yet. I know that there is nothing I can do until the test results come back tomorrow, and all his other tests are fine, but I can’t get that through to Gemma.’ Kate gave a long sigh and waved her cell phone at him. ‘A boy she likes at her special needs school made some jokey comment and she didn’t know how to take it. She got upset. Then he got upset. Then the rest of the class got upset and before long the teacher had to call my dad.’

Kate closed her eyes and rested her head against the crook of Simon’s shoulder.

‘He didn’t say anything insulting or unkind. Nothing like that at all! But she just didn’t understand that he meant it as the kind of banter that we used to have. And it breaks my heart. Every. Single. Time. There are so many things that she will never love like we did. I just want her to be happy. And it’s so hard.’

Simon groaned out loud. ‘I am the one who should apologise. I have seen you all day and not once asked how Gemma is getting on. How old is she now? Twelve?’

Kate smiled as though the sun had come out again, and Simon’s heart leapt at the intensity of joy in Kate’s face. ‘She’ll be thirteen in three weeks’ time, but she is already a teenager at heart—right down to the nail polish and fashion. I shall be working extra shifts at head office at this rate, to pay for all the designer labels that she will need to look cool in the next few years.’

Simon paused for a moment, before lowering his voice and asking, ‘Is that why you agreed to take this assignment? So you could work sooner at headquarters and be closer to home?’

Kate laughed out loud and shifted back slightly, so that she could stroke his cheek with one finger.

‘You always were too clever for your own good, Reynolds. Do you know that?’ But then her laughter eased away. ‘You’re right. I sold my flat in London six months ago and moved back to live with dad and Gemma. It wasn’t … Well, it wasn’t working out very well for me.’

‘Ah,’ Simon replied with a knowing nod. ‘Was that not working out because of some uncaring boyfriend? Or was it—’ and at this he flashed his teeth in a pretend grimace ‘—a lazy husband who did not polish the silver to your exacting standards?’

Kate reared back, wide-eyed, and stared at him. ‘Has all this African sun gone to your head? No, Simon. No husband, boyfriend, or, in case you were wondering, illegitimate children.’ And then she smiled and shot him a cheeky glance. ‘I would have told you if you had asked. And of course I don’t need to ask you about children. What did you used to say?’

She lifted her chin, and to Simon’s horror gave a very good impression of his normal speaking voice.

‘The first five years are crucial to career development, darling. Family life must wait until there is a firm financial footing.’

Simon dropped his head onto his chest and groaned. ‘Oh, no. Did I really sound so arrogant and pompous back then? I don’t know how you put up with me.’

‘Oh, it wasn’t so bad. You did call me darling now and again, and of course it wouldn’t have been half as much fun without you to keep me on my toes.’